Gallery: The 10 Worst Beauty Ads Of All Time

Yeah, yeah, we’re really tired of that Dove ad, too. I don’t even know if it’s still on. By “tired” I mean “we hate that stupid ad with all the inexplicable, manic underwear hilarity.” But at least it’s not an advertisement for sanitized, fat fighting tapeworms. Or really, any of these:

“Baby knife-fighting”… I want to see that… Also, vagina Lysol? Christ on a cracker.

Jyl

innocence is sexier than you think. OMG i’m gonna puke.

Kat

I happen to love the Dove ads, thanks

Luna

I am terrified of that Pear Soap thing now. Dear god.

Christian

It’s too bad that “sanitized” tape worm product didn’t stick around longer. I can just see Maria Callas on the cover, holding out the waistline of some over-sized pants, and cheerfully telling people to drop a few worms if they wanna drop the weight.

oja

So… was the loves baby soft perfume intended for horny little girls who want to attract the pedophile of their dreams?
Cause that’s pretty much the ONLY solution I can draw from that ad.

secret blah

This is so wrong in so many way.
“Because innocence is sexier than you think”?!
Who wrote this? A perverted sex offender?

Lexi

Pears soap wins. But it was a close call, “baby soft” was also disturbing in ways I never could have prepared myself for…

Brett

Tie between Pears and “Innocence is sexier than you think”. Both make me laugh for about ten seconds before I remember they’re real.

Although the weird severed head… never look at Scotch tape the same way.

Jennifer Wright

Wait, seriously? Because for me, sanitized tapeworms are the clear winners. They’re a can full of tapeworms. That women ate.

Martin

I cannot belive you included the dove ad. This was a milestone in breaking down the stereotypes continually pumped out there. I work as a creative director in a global ad agency and i ask on what authority (and what part of your brain was damaged) do you have to inflict your stunted thinking on a world where advertising undermines the self image of women. In short, you have an ugly mind.

Alice

I completely agree with this. All of these women are beautiful. ‘Beauty’ is not defined by being unnaturally thin.

eEv

First of all, the dove ad was not “included” in the list of ten worst. She said, “We’re really tired of [the ad]… but at least it’s not…” and proceeded to list the ten worst. Second of all, yes the women are beautiful and the ad did something pretty important. But to say Ms. Wright has an “ugly mind” for criticizing the ad is absurd. It would be one thing if she had said, “Eww, nobody wants to look at those fatties.” She didn’t. She was criticizing the laughing in underwear for no reason. While I personally don’t have a problem with the ad, I don’t think Ms. W’s criticism of it was in any way “ugly” or “stunted.” She was criticizing the composition, not the models.

Jennifer Wright

Whoa, thanks!

carolyn

The Dove ad was “included” in the ten worst. See the top of your screen? There’s a picture from the Dove ad, and underneath it “Gallery: The 10 Worst Beauty Ads of All Time” Then she says she hates the ad.

Pretty misleading. They should have put a picture from one of the ACTUAL ads in the gallery. Would have made more sense.

eEv

Granted, the combination of graphic and headline is misleading. But my point was that criticizing an ad that happens to have non-model-skinny women in it, and criticizing it for a reason other than the women’s sizes, is not ugly or unreasonable.

m

hell yeah! i agree! it’s a wonderful ad! Dove has done a lot for women in advertising.

Jessica

So Martin, let me ask you how many times you’ve stood around in your underwear and laughed with your girlfriends? The ad wasn’t criticized for the fact that the women were plus sized, it was because of the obvious fakeness of the ad. Plus sized women have just recently started being represented in the media and it’s a big breakthrough, but this ad does a sucky job of representing them anyways. To accuse Ms. Wright of having an “ugly mind” is just silly. She wasn’t trashing the women, just the lame ad.

JusticeIzGorgeous

I HATE that Dove ad with the chunky chicks with the granny panties!!
YES!! I said it!!
(Btw, it is NOT listed in this ”ten worst beauty ads” list, although it SHOULD’ve been!!)

These ads are NUTS!!
Between the Vagina Lysol, the Pears soap and the cooky chick with the pointy boobs in the Jack-n-the-box can… I don’t know WHAT the hell to think, lol!!!
The pedophile-esque (Baby soft?) ad is pretty sick!!
Aaaand BABY KNIFE-FIGHTING??!! …Bwaaaaaa haaaa haaaa haaaaaaaaaa!!!

**I actually have the original 1908 Sears catalog with that tapeworm ad in it…

nolalola26

OK I think there’s a tie between Lysol-ing your vagina so your husband doesn’t shun you (wowie wow) and the terrifying pedophile Baby Soft. I think the creepy Pears ad is supposed to look like a child playing happily, but they failed MISERABLY in getting that across. They should have fired their arts department after they handed in that gem.

Eileen

I hate the Dove ad. It’s so fake (I totally agree about the stupid expressions on the women’s faces) – and it’s too preachy. This may not be Dove’s fault, but I hate hearing “plus-size” women go on and on about being plus size – and I hate hearing companies that feature plus-size models get lauded for that and not for their product or how effectively they market it.

johnny

yes, how dare those uppity fatsos talk about the challenges of being fat in an industry with ridiculous rigid beauty standards.

Renee

Ever see the ads for Radior from the early 1900′s? A beauty product that will make you “glow”. “Guaranteed to contain a definite quantity of radium.” Fabulous. :P

Sam

OMG I totally had Love’s Baby Soft when I was a little girl…
Who in my family got me that stuff??
0_0

fromabroad

I never liked that Dove ad, I mean, regular people doesn’t make me feel any better about myself, I rather spend my money on something that sell the idea of something unachievable, no one want to look ordinary . I prefer those ads with supermodels that gives the illusion that if I decide to buy that product, I will become just as attractive, it doesn’t matter if it’s all a big lie, buying is about the experience, the feeling we aspire to achieve, most products don’t deliver what they promise anyway. This is why fashion magazines and beauty ads will always portray rare beauty, skinny bodies, women love this whole thing, otherwise we would stop buying magazines and feeding the industry. just my 2 cents